Lily's Lunacy
by Lugia Smiles
Summary: When Lily and Remus are left 'alone' in the Gryffindor Common Room, they have a... surprising... conversation. Signifigantly better than this summary, don't worry. Grins.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own any Harry Potter related stuff, characters or anything else. They belong to J.K Rowling.

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**Lily's Lunacy.**

Lily Evans smiled lightly as she stared down the roll of parchment before her. Scanning her flowing cursive script, she rested her quill tip against her lips, feeling the slight crinkles in the rigid silk of the falcon feather. Shifting a thick, red lock of her hair that was snaking over one shoulder to join its fellows, the emerald-eyed young lady began to write again, dipping her quill into her inkwell.

"Vampires… blood… commonly thought to bite… bat transfiguration…" Lily muttered to herself, completely unaware of the boy who was NOT reading his book, no matter how good a deception he had going.

"Talking to yourself, Evans?" James Potter hollered across the Gryffindor Common Room. In the corner there was a _thunk_ – the quiet boy had dropped his book. "Here Remus." James said absently, giving Remus his book back as he walked by.

"Thank you." The quiet, thin young man had a rather odd look in his eyes as he glanced from James to Lily.

"What business of _yours_ is it, Potter, if I talk to myself?" Lily snapped, her fiery red hair matching her temper at that moment.

"Well, Evans," James said loftily, plunking himself in the chair beside Lily, "Talking to oneself is the first sign of madness. And I wouldn't like to see you mad." Lily glared at him.

"You mean, madder than she already is right now Prongs?" Sirius yelled over from where he was sitting, watching the scene with an amused smirk. "Coz I don't think it's possible for her to get any madder." Lily shot him a look that would have frozen a volcano.

"Shut up, Sirius." James said to his best friend. Sirius just beamed his mega-watt smile. James gave up and resumed speaking. "See Evans, I think you problem is-"

"Please Potter; enlighten us as to 'my problem.'" Lily said menacingly. James continued, heedless of the impending danger.

"Well, your problem is that you need to be around people more." He chuckled. "Then you wouldn't have to talk to yourself. You know, _I_ am pretty good company." Sirius and James sighed in unison, knowing exactly what James was about to say. "So how about it, Evans, a date?" The two boys mouthed everything word-for-word as James spoke confidently.

"_How_ many times must I say 'NO,' Potter?" Lily said angrily. "I am trying to work. Now go away and leave me alone!" She scooted her chair away from James and returned to her essay, nose in the air. The scruffy haired boy stared at Lily for a moment, and then walked off, slamming the portrait door as he banged out of the Common Room. Sirius gave Lily a measured glance, opened his mouth as if to say something, seemingly thought better of it, and closed his mouth and followed his best-friend out of the room. Remus simply watched the scene in silence, his wry mouth in a tight line.

-----

"Remus, will he _ever_ grow up?" Lily said in a tired voice once a few moments had passed.

"Can I choose not to answer that?" Remus smiled, and Lily laughed softly.

"Yes."

"You know, once you get to know him, James really isn't that bad. He's… different… when around you." Lily sighed heavily.

"I know. That's the worst of it. I _know_ that James is a better person."

"Lily…" Remus trailed off.

"So, what are you reading at the moment?" The cherry haired girl inquired, abruptly changing the subject.

"A book." Remus replied, smiling wryly.

"Obviously." Lily smiled back, her mood lightening. "But _what_ book?"

"Sages The Elemental Powers."

"What's it about?"

"Seven Sages – like witches or wizards but different. They have magic, but not as we would comprehend it in the normal sense." Lily nodded in understanding, so Remus continued. "This book follows each of their stories. It's fascinating."

"Sounds cool."

"You can borrow it sometime if you'd like, Lily." Remus offered, shyness audible in his voice.

"Thanks. That'd be good."

"That's fine. Just ask when you wish to read it." A comfortable silence fell between them. Remus resumed reading – or attempting to read – and Lily continued her essay.

-----

"Remus?" Lily said hesitantly. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course." Remus looked at her seriously, silver-grey meeting emerald green.

"Well… James can be a nice guy. And he likes me." Lily stopped talking.

"And…" Remus prodded gently.

"What if – completely theoretical of course-"

"Completely theoretical." Remus agreed, smiling wryly, although his fingers were tingling.

"Yes, completely theoretical – I was to say… maybe perhaps like someone who is definitely not James?" She blurted out, a pink tinge entering cheeks with a vengeance.

"Well, I'd have a few views on that situation." Remus replied slowly, trying to regain his shattered wits.

"Would you share them?"

"Well, as one of James's best friends, I say 'Lily, you are terrible, he cares for you, how could you do this!'" Lily looked as though she might cry. "As _your_ friend, I say 'It's your choice, so just take the path that seems right to you.'" Lily brightened a little, then met his eyes, biting her bottom lip.

"Remus, what do _you_ say? _Your_ opinion. If you'll tell me." Remus quailed inwardly, feeling every remnant of colour leech from his face.

"Well… my opinion… my opinion." He stalled. "Well, it depends on the aforementioned 'someone.' If it's a girl, I would have two main reactions. Both laughter and sympathy for James, and surprise on my own part, because I didn't think you were… not that I'd have a problem with it." Lily gave a weak chuckle.

"It's a guy, Remus. Assuredly not a girl."

"Okay. Hmmm. If it was a Hufflepuff, I'd say you could do better. If Sirius, I'd yell 'What are you thinking?' because that's insane and James would deliberately get hit on the head by a bludger in the next Quidditch Match." He rolled his eyes. "And if it were Snape, I'd be extremely disturbed and trying to give James huge amounts of morphine and Valium." Lily laughed, for a moment regaining the natural sparkle in her features.

"Severus isn't _that_ bad, you know." She reprimanded his gently.

"I know." He smiled wryly, before saying with a hint of worry, "It _isn't_ Severus, is it?"

"No – NO!" She returned his wry smile quickly before speaking, her voice carefully moderated and her face devoid of any colour or emotion. "It's you."

-----

Remus felt his stomach leave his body and plummet down into the dungeons. Not literally of course, or Professor Slughorn would have had an unpleasant surprise landing in his bedroom. His eyes swiftly lost their normally misty grey look, and alternated into silver, the platinum orbs wide, sharp, piercing… and afraid. Lily stared at her friend, emerald eyes wide with honesty and trust.

"Lily… I…" Remus was too shocked and bewildered to speak.

"Oh Remus, I'm so sorry!" Lily gasped. "How could I be so stupid and apathetic?" Tears glimmered at the edges of her eyes, which were quenched of their normal happy fervour.

"But… _James_…" Remus stammered.

"I'm sorry Remus. It was _so_ stupid of me to say that; and to think that maybe you cared about me too." Lily said sadly. This snapped Remus out of his confusion.

"But I _do_!" He replied without thinking. An icy, uncomfortable silence fell between them. "Can we pretend I never said that?"

"No. Remus…" The weird silence continued.

"James is going to kill me." Remus remarked to the wall, strangely calm.

"If James loves me as much as he _says_ he does, then he should put up with what makes me happy. If that just happens to be you, then he needs to deal with that." Remus shook his head.

"No, he'll just kill me. Or-" He cut off his sentence abruptly.

"Tell the school you're a werewolf?" Remus yelped.

"How – what – when–"

"Just how dumb to you think I am? I've known since our Third Year, when we studied them in Defense Against the Dark Arts." Remus just gaped at her.

"But… you… I'm…" Lily just raised one perfectly curved eyebrow, which was a slightly browner red than the rest of her hair.

"I obviously don't care. And don't say 'How can I not?' I know all about what you are. I still don't care."

"Umm…" Remus was utterly speechless, a few locks of his light brown hair falling into his eyes.

"Yeah. So…"

"Uh, Lily, what's supposed to happen now? I mean, you like me, I like you, James is going to kill us…"

"Well, it depends." Lily mused, rising out of her chair and drifting over near the werewolf. "But, this might help." Smiling, she glided the last few steps towards Remus, and then leant down and kissed him softly. Pulling back, both students jumped a mile as a forcefully cheerful voice whipped through the air.

-----

"Well, as nice as this is, I suggest you stop." Sirius announced with a forced, twisted smile.

"H-how long have you been there?" Lily stammered, straightening as Sirius stepped out of the darkness of the shadowy alcove near the Portrait Hole.

"Long enough." He said dangerously. "And Remus, you're right. James is going to kill you. Both of you. He would have killed you before now had I not entered the Common Room first. I heard you two and Petrified him on the spot, put a Silencing charm around him, and turned him to the wall so he couldn't see you. Actually, for that he's probably going to kill me too." He smiled again, a twisted, pain-riddled grimace. "We should all make our wills. You especially, Remus. You'd be in a box about to go nine feet under had I not intervened.

"Sirius-" Remus began, but Sirius cut him off.

"I've known for years that you cared about Lily. But I expected more from you, I honestly did."

"Sirius, this is _my_ fault." Lily protested. "_I_ told Remus I cared for him. _I_ kissed him." She went from deathly white to cherry red.

"But he didn't protest. Didn't push you away. And he said he cared about you."

"And I'm glad he did! "Better that then to be _lied_ to! At least Remus is honourable enough to tell me the honest truth when I ask him!" She retorted. "And without cracking on to me! I can't even ask Potter the _time_ without him asking me out!"

"Lily! Don't you understand?" Sirius exploded, his face suffused an angry red. "This – isn't – going – to – work! _Ever_!" Lily gave him a glare that would make a Spartan flee.

"Lily," Remus's voice was hale and almost inaudible. "I… agree… with Sirius. I'm so sorry." Lily's face crumpled. "I care about you, I really do, but there is just no way this would ever work out." A hush fell over the room, Sirius staring from one book-worm to the other.

"We couldn't… I don't know… keep it a secret… just for a while?" A crystalline tear dripped off the end of her nose.

"No." Sirius and Remus said firmly in unison.

"_Augh_!" With an angry yet anguished and tear-soaked cry, Lily threw herself towards Remus, and before Sirius could intercede, she wrapped her arms around Remus and gave him a fiery kiss. Then, with the cry of an sorrowful phoenix searching for it's mate, she tore out of the Common Room, tears streaking tracks in her pale, tormented face.

Remus met Sirius's charismatic eyes firmly.

"Sirius…"

"I know. Remus, I understand. And you've done the right thing. But this has to stay forever buried and hidden from James. Your ten seconds of bliss can't be shared."

"Mmm-hmm." Remus said absently. He felt harsh tears prick at his eyelids, and wished Sirius would go.

"Remus, I'm sorry. I really am." He looked sorrowfully at his friend and pulled him into a manly hug. "I'll take James to the Quidditch Pitch or somewhere – away from Lily – and you – and tell him I was trying a spell and aimed badly. He beamed his gorgeous mega-watt smile, and Remus smiled despite himself.

"Thank you." He muttered softly. "You're the best, Sirius." Padfoot left, tugging James along. As soon as he was sure they'd gone, Remus sunk into a chair, hiding hot, salty tears behind his book.

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_(**A/N:** Sorry it's taken me forever to write anything. Writer's block, School Certificate Exams coming up, school exams approaching, mass amounts of homework and assignments, and not to mention the fact that my computer died for two months (poor little thing). But here's a simple little oneshot fic, which I hope you've liked. The ----- are just pauses/new paragraphs, and the ---...-- is the story start/end. The 'add ruler' option won't work for some reason... Ah well. Ciao!)_


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